Draco crash on takeoff 16 Sept 2019

Yup. You guys were right. He deliberately wrecked it (with his wife on board) to collect the insurance on an airplane that he didn't want any more...

 
RoscoeT said:
You are correct about the lift differential associated with aileron, but I still disagree with you guys saying the right wing was stalled when the right tire never came off the ground, and also because of the fact that with full power and flaps, this airplane's stall deck angle is significantly higher than what is achieved in a 3-point or very slightly tail raised attitude. Could not have been stalled at such a low deck angle and AOA. The only way it could have reached critical AOA at this pitch attitude is if the airplane was descending, but of course the runway surface prevented this. ;)
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So, if the plane is going 1 mph at that deck angle, it can’t be stalled? Seems like you are forgetting that airspeed is a factor. With slow enough forward movement that plane can certainly stall at ANY deck angle, even when not descending.
 
Salty said:
So, if the plane is going 1 mph at that deck angle, it can’t be stalled? Seems like you are forgetting that airspeed is a factor. With slow enough forward movement that plane can certainly stall at ANY deck angle, even when not descending.
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No it can't, not unless the AOA gets to the critical angle. Airspeed is NOT a factor (disregarding second order effects like Reynolds number effects).
 
Dana said:
No it can't, not unless the AOA gets to the critical angle. Airspeed is NOT a factor (disregarding second order effects like Reynolds number effects).
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Cool. So draco can levitate. Awesome.
 
Actually, I misunderstood your point, you are in fact correct.
 
Salty said:
So, if the plane is going 1 mph at that deck angle, it can’t be stalled? Seems like you are forgetting that airspeed is a factor. With slow enough forward movement that plane can certainly stall at ANY deck angle, even when not descending.
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So you're modifying the definition of a stall to include the time spent taxiing to the runway? Stall means turbulent and detached airflow over the wing inflight as a result of exceeding critical AOA.
 
Hey, I know this thread and accident is way old, but there are a few things that stand out. If I may.

First off, I have to give credit to the owner, owning up to the accident right away, just after it happened. They were all safe, great. After that he got on camera and related the decision making and reasoning. Yes, it’s always easier in hindsight.

The other point, the winds died down not long afterwards. This is relevant as many are cranking up to fly to Oshkosh. I’m not sure what kind of timetable Mike thought he was on, but just a modest delay would have brought much better conditions. It was a sad end to a great aircraft. That reminds me of a safety adage, ‘be better than you think you are’, operate inside your envelope.

I was reminded about Draco while looking at some older Oshkosh videos. That’s about it, not trying to rehash the minutiae.
 
Wagondriver said:
To every airplane I've seen video and pictures of wrecking on takeoff. Hell, a lot of videos and pictures of airplanes that actually crashed, and at much higher speeds.
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This has more in common with high-wing taildragger ground-loops, with more energy. Most of that looks is the un-strutted wings coming from together at the roots as they got whacked pretty hard at the tips - and that's a pretty obvious weak point based on the lack of struts. The cabin itself looks to have fared reasonably well.
 
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